Drink-drive habit persists
Survey reals most Kiwis willing to knock a couple back and climb behind wheel
Most New Zealanders have no issue driving to and from the pub and think it is fine to have one or two drinks before driving to another destination, a study into Kiwi drinkdriving behaviour has revealed.
The study, headed by Heineken as part of its “When you drive, never drink” campaign, involved three bars in Auckland and two in Christchurch, with 1256 survey respondents.
In 2016, drugs and alcohol contributed to 80 fatal crashes, 144 serious injury crashes and 479 minor crashes, according to NZTA figures.
But when it comes to drink-driving habits, the study found 59 per cent of Kiwis will drive to a bar and nine out of 10 drivers had decided they would drink and drive before even arriving at the bar.
The study looked at Kiwis at bars on a usual week of operation, then again a week later with preventative measures in place.
A majority, 68 per cent, of drivers said they were happy to have one or two drinks before driving elsewhere.
After the survey, 89 per cent of Auckland patrons were driving home after drinking, and after intervention measures that dropped to 82 per cent. In Christchurch the figures fell 2 per cent to 82 per cent.
The Zookeeper’s Son manager Alok Ravineran said many customers at the Royal Oak watering hole had been open to hearing the “when you drive, never drink” message.
He said the biggest improvement as a result of the survey was that all bar staff now had confidence to point sober drivers to alcohol-free options, and give advice.
In the South Island, Pegasus Arms owner Alex Brackstone said that after 20 years in the industry, he felt drinkdriving attitudes had changed dramatically: “The big change we see is that the attitude has changed with the older generation.”
DB Breweries managing director Peter Simons said the survey illustrated that many people made their own rules around how much alcohol they could drink before “safely” getting behind the wheel.
“While . . . we saw a small decrease in the numbers of people driving home after drinking, we also found that nine out of 10 people driving to bars and restaurants had already decided to drink alcohol and drive home before they had left the house.”
The preventative measures used in the study included clear availability of alcohol-free drinks including zero per cent beers, food and rewards for sober drivers, staff wearing T-shirts reading “when you drive, never drink”, digital, outdoor and carpark signage, and Heineken staff telling people about the campaign.